This week's Bible Study - June 29, 2008

Extraordinary Wisdom for Everyday Living
If Your Money Could Talk

Background Scripture: Lots of verses in Proverbs....

Quote of the Week:
“Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.” --
Benjamin Franklin

Can your money talk? Most of us have never heard anything audible coming out of our money, but money can say a lot. Neil Diamond once had a song called "Forever in Blue Jeans" with the lyrics of "Money talks, but it don't sing and dance and it don't walk". Some people pay a lot of attention to those with money, but it's more about the money than the people. Money and 'things' become a bit more than a status symbol for many people in our culture. When we put our focus on the things and the money, we may very well lose other aspects of life that are much more important.

Where do we spend our money? How responsible are we with our money? There is the danger of getting too reliant upon our money and investments and savings - thinking that we can handle whatever comes our way - all the while relying upon ourselves and not on God. Even believers can fall into this trap. We say we believe that God provides for our needs and can meet our needs, but in reality, we only say that as long as we have the wherewithal to meet our needs on our own - who do we trust, really? And, then on the other extreme, there are those who pay no mind to money - they act as if God will take care of all of their needs, so they do not need to worry about financial responsibility.

Our money can say a lot about us. It used to be that you could get a pretty good idea of what is important in your life by looking at your checkbook. Many people have no idea what a checkbook is anymore. Maybe for those folks, just think of your online bank account - where is that money going? You've heard the expression 'put your money where your mouth is'. Often, our money goes to where our heart is - and if that is really true, you may have a lot of surprises if you look at where your money is going / has gone.

God gives us many gifts to use in our lives, but these gifts can bring danger if the focus is wrong. Money is necessary for many things - so that we can provide for basic needs and can help those in need. However, a tendency in many people is to make the money the focus and forget the important things. Money can be a blessing - in fact, some people may have a lot of money and still be very well adjusted in their lives. Others can have very little money and be very well adjusted. But, in either case, the pursuit of money can wreck a life - for those who get it and for those who don't have it but want it very badly.

This lesson from several passages in Proverbs speaks briefly to several aspects regarding our money and our attitudes about wealth. Is God trying to speak to you?

Proverbs 3:9-10

One of the first things we need to consider about how we deal with our money is its relative position to our relationship with God. Hardly any Christian would say that they value money more than that relationship, but in practicality, you wouldn't know it by what they give. This passage tells us that we need to give to the Lord out of what we have at the start, rather than waiting to see what is left over.

The point of this lesson isn't to talk about a percentage. Some hold strongly to a tithe of what you make - some say before taxes, some say after taxes. Some say that you need to figure out what you can give and be diligent to give that first, and work your way up to where you feel God is leading. Some have gone much more than a tithe based upon their ability to do so. We need to decide what we are going to give God, through our local church, and then follow through. If we wait until we've paid all the bills, gone out to eat multiple times, filled the car up with gas a few times, been to the movies, paid membership fees, got the Starbucks coffee each morning, visited the snack machines, etc - we're finding we have very little to give to God.

Rather than honoring God with our leftovers, we need to give off the top of what we have. You will find that God blesses the giver - in this passage, we see that God intends to bless those who give, by giving them more. We do not simply give, expecting to receive. Our motive needs to be to give to God and then realize that as God blesses, we have more to give.

Proverbs 11:24-26, 28

Proverbs 19:17

Proverbs 28:22, 25

There is the Biblical principle of giving and getting back, and holding and losing. We have a tendency from an early age to say the words 'mine'. You will hear these words at any day care or any church preschool. It matters little the background of the kids, but they are normally by nature selfish. If you have multiple kids in your house, you will likely see a bit of selfish sibling rivalry about things. In our society, kids have way too many toys and things to play with - so much that they forget what they have at times. However, you will often see kids that go into fits when their brother or sister picks up their 'thing' - their 'thing' which they forgot they had and / or hadn't touched for several months. That's mine! A strictly selfish mentality - it's mine and you can't use it / borrow it / have it - even if I forgot that I had that. As we grow older, we may not voice the words 'mine', but even in my work, which is distributed across multiple sites around the country, a phrase that is often heard is 'not invented here'. People still want to hang on to 'mine'.

Some people build larger storehouses and get more accounts so that they can manage their stuff. When they hoard what they have, they are in danger of imploding upon themselves. They may have a lot of resources at their disposal, but they keep them all for themselves. Have you noticed how many tangible needs exist, even within our churches? There are those who are enduring financial stresses, due to job losses. There are those who are hurting due to lost relationships of all different types. There are those who need a vehicle. There are those who need a place to stay. There are those who need groceries. There are those who need a ride. There are those who need work done around their house, but are unable to do it themselves. Some needs cannot be met by resources, but many of them can be met from what people can give. And, almost assuredly, there are those in our churches who have the resources to meet each of these needs. Some won't, because they don't know of the needs. Others won't, because that stuff they have - well, it's 'mine!' God deals with his people according the measure by which they deal with their brothers. If God dealt with you according to how you've met other's needs, would you have more or less wealth?

Are we willing to use what God has given us to help others in need? Do we look at what we have as all we will ever have, so we need to conserve every penny and resource? God has blessed us with many talents and abilities, so that we have the potential to make a living and help others. As we allow ourselves to be used by God, we will find that he continues to give us opportunities to provide more and more. Many people are willing to serve, but are we willing to use what God has given us to meet needs? If you give, he'll continue to replenish. If you hoard what you have, you are in danger of losing it.

Proverbs 13:11

Proverbs 16:11

Proverbs 21:6

Have you ever started thinking about what you'd do if you won the lottery? It's one of those traps that people fall into - wishing for that windfall income. Some are waiting for the Brinks Armored Truck to lose its load on the road in front of them, and drive off not knowing it was gone. Some are looking for a quick fix to get some money to do something with. I noticed that believers would often talk about how much they would give to the church, if they won a million dollars. Or, if God blessed them with a professional sports career, they would pay for entire building programs and other needs within the church. Interesting that they may give very little, if anything to the church with what they have now. Would it really make a difference if they had more?

Even if not the lottery, sometimes those in financial distress think that if they could just get that 500 dollars or 5000 dollars or 50000 dollars, they would be okay and not have to worry anymore. There is the tendency to want that quick fix, and we tell ourselves that if we can fix it now, then we'll be good for the rest of our lives. If we've lived under a pattern of financial irresponsibility, do we really think more money would fix that? I believe the problems would only get worse for some people. The Bible is clear that we need to go about making a living in an honest manner. We need to be honest in our day to day dealings, gathering money bit by bit and letting it grow. Some may want to cut corners or tell 'white lies' in order to close a sale.

Making money by dishonest means is a deadly trap. It is one of those things that you might do once and get away with it. Most criminals are not caught on the first time - they become more and more greedy and they set a pattern in their lives. It may seem very successful in the short term, but it sets a deadly trap. Do you remember Enron? In 2000, Enron claimed revenues of $111 billion. It was named as one of the most innovate countries in America, as they seemed to be rolling along as one of the world's largest electricity, natural gas, pulp and paper, and communications companies. However, by the end of 2001, Enron became known as a company of willful corporate fraud and corruption. Things seemed to be rolling along, but the bottom fell out. While most people won't hit this extreme in their financial condition, we need to be wary of the get rich quick (or dishonestly) at any cost schemes, because they are indeed a deadly snare.

Proverbs 15:16-17 -

Proverbs 21: 17, 20 -

Proverbs 23:4-5 -

What problems do people encounter when they make wealth their main desire? Certainly, our society offers a lot of ways that a person can make money, and as has been mentioned before, that isn't all bad. The problem comes when we have our priorities set in the wrong place. When we are satisfied with God and what he does in our lives, we are better than when we are consumed with wealth. The problem with a strong focus on wealth is that it is an appetite that cannot be quenched. When people start making more, they are seldom content with where they are - it always has to be more. The continuous pursuit of wealth can bring great turmoil in a life.

A life that is spent in the continuous pursuit of pleasure actually robs a man. To seek pleasure all the time will give us a wrong perspective on life, and will make it so that we are never truly content. It is always about getting more and more - making more money, buying more things, going more places, doing more things. It is difficult for people that are always seeking pleasure to ever truly be satisfied with anything that they achieve. A wise person will have what they need, when they need it. A foolish person devours all that they have, and in the continuous pursuit of more.

One other perspective on those who are out to get rich - they become overly preoccupied with what they have. Years before financial records were available online, I knew people that tracked stocks and investments and savings down to the penny - and lived and died in many ways every day. A gain on Tuesday would make them happy, but a huge loss on Wednesday would send them into despondency. When the emphasis is all about making more, that is the primary emphasis in life. There is the preoccupation with what a person has, which can certainly lead to downfall. We've all heard of the expression of being burned out. It can happen in all areas of life - where we just stay too busy and perhaps we lose focus of why we do what we do. It can happen in our jobs, in our relationships and even in our service in the church. Many people, in the pursuit of wealth, will become burned out - as they burn the candle at both ends, trying to get ahead. And, quite honestly, they never make it. Enough is never enough.

Closing

What does it take to be rich and wealthy? Some would say that it would mean that you would earn at or above a certain salary, or that you would have a certain amount in the bank or that you could afford whatever you wanted to buy. While these things are not necessarily bad, this is not what true wealth in life is. As I heard it put this past Sunday in church, to be rich and wealthy is to accumulate life experiences and treasure them. Are you wealthy? Who are the people that God has placed in your life that have given you experiences that make you wealthy? I feel certain that we can all look back over our lives and thank God for many wonderful experiences that have enriched our lives much more than any amount of money could. We need to be thankful for how God has brought us wealth in living - and be thankful for the many experiences and relationships that we have had in our lives.